Article

The Most Frustrated Person in Your Company

No, it’s not you. Earlier in my career I spent most of my time down in the front lines of organizations. As time passed, I…

by John Shook

Case Study

Knife Company Hones Competitiveness by Bucking the Status Quo

Family-owned Buck Knives needed to reduce costs by at least 30% to keep its U.S. operations open. In turning to lean, the company gained more than…

by Tonya Vinas

Article

Ask Art: How Does Lean Bring the Customer Directly Onto the Shop Floor?

The lean approach reduces setup times, creates flow, improves quality, lowers cost and drastically shortens lead times, says Art Byrne, who explains how a good…

by Art Byrne

Article

React Less and Improve More by Using SPC More Effectively

When we stop reacting to “noise” in a metric, we can better focus our improvement efforts, waste less time, and improve more, says Mark Graban.…

by Mark Graban and Mark Graban

Article

PDCA thinking and the NCAA March Madness tournament

"There is so much thinking that goes into this thing called 'Bracketology,' which gives sports fans a way to 'grasp the situation' of their favorite…

by Ernie Richardson and Tracey Richardson

Article

Ask Art: At What Pace Should A Lean Turnaround Be Implemented?”

Changing from a traditional batch, make-the-month culture to a lean value driven culture takes a lot of time and effort, says Art Byrne. The faster…

by Art Byrne

Case Study

Lean management case study series: Pediatric Hospital in Tough Market Pegs Growth to Lean Process Improvement

Lean improvement projects at Akron Children’s Hospital have saved millions of dollars, increased utilization of expensive assets, and reduced wait times for patients and their…

Article

Contributor’s Corner: Learning With 10X Speed at US Synthetic

How rapid learning cycles helped the synthetic diamond manufacturer slash its idea-to-test turnaround time from 43 days to 4.5 days — and create a significant…

by Ken Bertagnolli

Article

Jim Womack Shares a Future-Focused Reflection on 'Machine'

Jim Womack shares a future-focused, humble reflection of the groundbreaking book he co-authored with Daniel T. Jones and Daniel Roos, The Machine that Changed the…

by Roberto Priolo

Article

Do you use Japanese terms in your lean transformation or purposely avoid them? Why?

Recently we asked our community "Do you use Japanese terms in your lean transformation or purposely avoid them? Why?" Below is a list of all…

by Lean Enterprise Institute

Article

Ask Art: What Do You Mean When You Say Run Your Company On Your Operational Excellence Goals?

The Lean company competes on its operational excellence goals, says Art Byrne. These stretch goals must be aggressive in nature and deployed down to every…

by Art Byrne

Article

Is lean just another word for productivity?

Dear Gemba Coach: Isn’t lean about productivity before all else?

by Michael Ballé

Article

Gemba Walks: Are You Going To See or To Be Seen?

"Supervisors talked about the significant improvements they were making as a result of kaizen events," writes Dave LaHote, "But all I noticed was workers trying…

by Dave LaHote

Case Study

New Facility, New Flow, and New Levels of Patient Care The wait is over for patients at the Clearview Cancer Institute in Alabama

Dr. Marshall Schreeder treats cancer and treatment processes at the Clearview Cancer Institute in Alabama.

Article

Performance versus costs, part 2

Dear Gemba Coach: I’ve read your recent column on performance versus cost with great interest, as I believe we’re currently having a similar discussion at management…

by Michael Ballé

Article

Let's Stop Being Hypocrites: Work is Work

"We often talk about knowledge workers as though they need to be treated differently from shop floor workers," writes Dan Markovitz, "...but the truth is…

by Dan Markovitz

Article

What is the Theory of Constraints, and How Does it Compare to Lean Thinking?

The following article reviews the Theory of Constraints (TOC), first published in The Goal by Eliyahu M. Goldratt and Jeff Cox in 1984, and compares…

by Sergio Rattner

Case Study

Lean Thinking Helps City of Chula Vista with Budget Crunch

After laying off 350 employees and still facing a continuing budget shortfall, the City of Chula Vista, CA, faced a seemingly impossible dilemma: how to…

by Doug Bartholomew

Article

Why does no one ask about production flow anymore?

Dear Gemba Coach: As I read lean posts and papers, no one seems to have problems like this anymore, but I am trying to convince…

by Michael Ballé

Article

Where do I start?

Dear Gemba Coach: I'm the operations manager of a healthcare training company. We conduct technical training to nurses in hospitals. We've had some inquiries about "lean…

by Michael Ballé